Sparks Brain Preservation
A Non-profit Organization
On this page we provide optional documents and suggested language that may be useful for Sparks members. These materials are separate from (and should not be confused with) our main signup paperwork, available on our Services page.
You may wish to ask your physician or health system to include a note in your medical record stating that you have arranged for brain preservation with Sparks Brain Preservation and that SBP should be contacted early in the event of grave illness or severe brain injury.
Suggested language:
“This patient has arranged for post-legal death brain preservation with Sparks Brain Preservation. Please contact them at 503-585-2781 as early as possible if the patient becomes gravely ill, suffers a severe brain injury, is expected to die, has planned withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, or is being evaluated for death by neurologic criteria.”
If you are preparing or updating an advance directive, we recommend considering language that asks your health care providers to contact Sparks Brain Preservation early if you become gravely ill or suffer a severe brain injury.
“High-quality brain preservation with Sparks Brain Preservation (SBP) is important to me. If I become gravely ill, suffer a severe brain injury, or my clinicians believe that death may be approaching, I request that Sparks Brain Preservation be contacted as early as possible at 503-585-2781. Do not wait until my legal death to contact SBP.
If withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment is planned, I request that its timing be coordinated with SBP when reasonably possible so that its team can prepare in advance. If evaluation or testing for death by neurologic criteria (“brain death”) is being considered, I request that SBP be contacted immediately.”
We note that we do not provide a separate advance directive form specific to our organization. Many issues related to anatomical donation, preservation, and what happens after legal death are already addressed in your SBP sign up paperwork. Advance directives primarily govern health care decisions while you are still alive, and the legal requirements for those documents vary by state. For that reason, we generally recommend adding brain preservation instructions to an existing state-specific advance directive rather than using a separate form.
California members whose religious convictions include an objection to autopsy or specified postmortem procedures may wish to execute a Certificate of Religious Belief under California Government Code § 27491.43.
We provide a sample form for convenience, available here. The certificate must be signed and dated in the presence of at least two witnesses, who must also sign and provide their printed names and residence addresses.
After completing the certificate:
Laws concerning advance directives, autopsies, and related issues vary by state. We may add additional state-specific resources here where a separate document or procedure is particularly useful.